The Transition

The world today is facing a major crisis due to non biodegradable polymers. These non biodegradable polymers have become an integral part of our lives, embedding themselves in every facet of contemporary life, from food packaging to toys, to vehicle parts, you name it!

Although, these products add an element of short term convenience to our lives, in the long run, they have been causing havoc. These materials are not biodegradable and tend to accumulate as waste, and cause a number of ill effects to both humans & entire environment in a variety of ways, and upon long term exposure, to air, water and sunlight can degrade to release toxic products.

PVC is the world's third most common type of plastic and has been found to be the most damaging type of plastic. Production and use of PVC has been linked to problems such as:

Contamination of air and drinking water supplies
Release of toxins such as dioxins when plastic is burnt, which is a persistent organic pollutant(POP)
Cancer, Infertility, Damage to Immune system, Developmental issues in children, etc.

PLA coming into play

The countries around the world, led by the European Union, are starting to ban the use of these non degradable plastic tableware and packaging materials and are trying to switch to more safer alternatives. PLA is one such alternative, and is considered the most robust alternative to plastic, made from renewable plant resources and fully biodegradable.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in America has approved PLA to be used in all food packaging applications

Plastic packaging plays an important role in preventing photodegradation,and PLA shows a better behaviour for this compared to other conventional packaging polymers. PLA imparts a slight yellowish colour to the plastic, which can give the consumer an impression that the stuff is old,which is a disadvantage.PLA containers have been used for packaging foods, such as Acqua Sant’Annas bottled water, Nobles PLA bottled juices and Danones yoghurts. All these containers adhere to EU and USA food grade requirements. The distinct features of PLA, such as ‘‘GRAS’’ (Generally Recognized As Safe) status and biodegradability put PLA in a unique position for food-packaging applications.

Medical and Biomedical applications

PLA has been used in the production of catheters,biodegradable scaffold and other devices.PLA microspheres have been useful in controlled drug delivery systems. Moreover, based on the structure and form of the capsule, it is possible to introduce diverse therapeutic substances targeted at specific organs and tissues. The enhancement of pharmocokinetics is made possible due to the regulated breakdown of these capsules allowing for an extended lifespan within the bloodstream. Tissue engineering can also be done witht he use of PLA.

Mulch Films used in agriculture

In Agriculture

PLA has been used in mulch films and further applications could be developed such as the use of PLA in sandbags,weed prevention nests,vegetation nets,pots,etc.The useof PLA in mulch films will reduce labour costs and disposal costs.

PLA cell phone frame

Electrical Appliances

Several forerunner industries have proposed various applications for PLA, interms of electrical appliances. Sony, for instance, incorporated PLA in the external shell of its renowned Walkman in 2001. Samsung and Toshiba used PLA for remote control devices and phone chassis. Sanyo incorporated PLA in the manufacturing of CD/DVD discs and cases. Fuji-Xerox integrated PLA into the interior components of several copying machines, while Fujitsu and PEGA successfully utilized PLA for the hard shell case of notebooks.

Textiles and Home furnishing

PLA fabrics have a variety of applications across various products, including knitted fabrics, non-woven textiles, headrest covers, vehicle seats, and tarpaulins. In Japan, JR trains utilize headrests crafted from PLA spunbond fabrics. Moreover, owing to PLA's inherent antifungal and antimicrobial properties, it finds use in air and water filters. Body towels made from PLA are renowned for their ability to resist unpleasant odors, thanks to these antimicrobial properties. As a result, potential applications extend to non-woven wipes, car and household wipes, personal care towels, diapers, napkins, carpets, tiles, rugs,etc.

References:

S. Fiori, in Poly(lactic acid) Science and Technology: Processing, Properties, Additives and Applications, ed. A. Jiménez, M. Peltzer, and R. Ruseckaite, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2014, pp. 315-333.

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